The Material Nature of Spirituality
It was observed from the 'time to think' experiments done in Biology 103 lab, that thinking is material. Thinking was associated with material changes and activities in the brain and the connected nervous system. This promulgates the brain=behavior notion.
According to this notion, all aspects of human behavior and experiences are functions of a material structure, the brain. Who one is, is determined by his or her brain. Nevertheless, many people continue to believe in a 'higher power' that guides and controls human action and behavior. In a sense, religion and spirituality was developed to understand and explore questions about 'who we are' and 'what is the purpose of life'.
Whether one is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu, religious thinking and belief attempt to ground human experiences and thoughts in the spiritual and ethereal. Religious experiences are considered 'otherworldly' and not material. Heightened spiritual behavior through prayer, meditation or yoga is considered to lead to a state of 'transcendence', 'inner peace' or a 'nearness to God' depending on which faith you follow. Hence, the notion of spirituality and religion is based on an ethereal component. However could the ethereal and spiritual be embodied by a material structure, the brain? Recent scientific research has provided observations, which suggest spirituality, and religious experience has a biological basis. Scientific observations suggest there are specific physiological aspects to spiritual behavior like meditation, prayer, and yoga.
Many people nowadays follow transcendental meditation, prayer, and yoga to enhance their spiritual and physical well being. These spiritual pra...
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3) The Effects of Meditation on the Brain Activity ,
http://members.aol.com/InstSSM/parietal.HTML
4) Searching for the God within,, a past Newsweek article.
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5) The Humanizing Brain: Where Religion and Neuroscience Meet,
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Whether they have super powers, capes, or extraordinary mental and physical abilities, heros are among us. Sometimes they’re truly just great people who do amazing things and have a happy ending. But other times they’re just normal people who are flawed and go on to do some heroic deeds. Often times these tragic hero's go unrecognized. Because Sophocles wrote Antigone, we will forever see that Creon is a true tragic hero that we will recognize and read about
Proponents of the Transcendental Meditation program initiated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have expressed their ideas in various web sites on the World Wide Web, through pages such as The Transcendental Meditation Program at http://www.tm.org and the Scientific Research on Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program of the Maharishi University of Management at http://www.miu.edu/TM_Research. In these sites positive messages are conveyed about the benefits of meditation to its practitioner within the physiological, psychological, sociological, intellectual, and interpersonal realms. Within these sites, the web-browser is presented with an abundance of information relating the vast array of health benefits offered to an individual through the regular practice of what is described as the simplest, most natural form of awareness--what practitioners of the technique term "transcendental consciousness." Through this technique, its advocates assert, one can:
The target audience is both males and females in their late teens to mid twenties. This company gets the male side of the equation by getting their attention and interest drawn to the attractive woman on the right with bright colors drawing your attention there as well as the bottle of whiskey which is right in the middle of the page. Then what gets these peoples attention to stay there is the fact they have an incredibly good looking female who is posing in next to nothing. Then a way that they try and get the females to look at the advertisement and read it is by showing a very plain girl who seems to be very typical of girls during their younger years. Then beside they show the same girl who now has become a women who is very attractive and just seems so much more powerful and sure of herself. One way that you can achieve that is if you drink Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
The main shortcomings of health care in the U.S. include limited access and difficulty in coordination of care. In an 11-country survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, Americans were found to have a greater wait period than adults from other countries. In fact, 20% of adults reported a delay of six or more days to see a doctor or nurse (Schoen, Osborn, Squires, Doty, Pierson & Applebaum, 2010). Access to care is further complicated as only 29% of U.S. primary care practices make arrangements for patients to receive care on evenings, weekends, and holidays (Abrams, Nuzum, Mika & Lawlor, 2011). Physicians also face frustrations in the coordination of care. U.S. physicians are more likely to report that patients cannot afford treatment and are less likely to have electronic patient records that facilitate patient-centered care (Osborn, Schoen, Doty, ...
In Eastern cultures, meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years. Through this training a culture has developed in which an individual is empowered to engaged in preventative behaviors, which reduce stress and morbidity, resulting in a general state of wellbeing, with stability and mental peace in the face of everyday challenges (Richardson and Lutz, 2008). Over the last half-century, the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation. In the modern western world there is an over abundance of stress, pressure and over stimulation. These conditions often result in stress-related morbidity, high levels of anxiety and mental illnesses. This cause and effect relationship is well established, and typically emphasis is placed on symptom control and less on preventative behavior modification. There are clinically documented see table 1, meditation practices that can be taught over a short period of time to an individual which have been shown to have positive results. Meditation can be used preventatively in supporting immune function and during illness as a method to aid healing and wellbeing for nominal costs. This paper will make an literary examination of a variety of studies of which examine the role of meditation training in regards to promoting immune function in athletes, recovering cancer patients, in addition to reducing stress and promoting well being in business professionals, cancer patients and seasoned meditation practitioners.
Firstly, the work women did when men left for the war, was very crucial and led to the Allied win. Demand of food and munitions overseas was not being fulfilled because farmers and factory workers went to France for the war. Work wasn't getting done and as a ...
An attempt to understand and grasp what the mind truly is has paved the way for new fields in research. First of all, the mind is elucidated as “the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.” Based on that information it can be assumed that the mind is like our window to the physical world, but it is crucial to note that certain aspects of our personality define it. Additionally, our perceptual experiences are deemed to be influenced by a stimulus that arrives at our sensory organs and have the power to cause changes in our mental states. But, how is it “possible for conscious experiences to arise out of a lump of gray matter endowed with nothing but electrochemical properties (wiki)?” This is precisely where psychologists come into play since they focus on understanding people, the mind, and human behavior. Psychologists perform countless experiments and research studies in order to elucidate on how we act, feel, and think, and additionally treat mental illness...
Over twenty-five hundred years ago, Buddha Guatama practiced meditation and came to what is known as “The Four Noble Truth,” an important principle in Buddhism (Elder, 2010). This principle informs the reader of what suffering is and how affect is. This is a great example of how valuable meditation is- on the very first session ever recorded, the awareness that came from it would later be the foundation of a new religion. This proves how powerful meditation can be. Furthermore, some form of meditation can be found in various religions. Although the styles, techniques, and ideology behind the meditation can vary per religion, personal transformation is the key goal (Modi, Singh, 2012). Today, in Western society, mindful meditation (a form of meditation) has grown in popularity, used for relaxation and to help treat those who suffer from mental illness’ and mood disorders. Viewed as alternative medicine for the mind and soul, it is beneficial for our emotional and mental
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
As one can see, meditation is a sacred act that can have endless benefits. As well as being a physical act, activities such as transcendental meditation can also be fulfilling spiritually and mentally. Through deep concentration and relaxation, meditation becomes an altered state of consciousness. This essay has shown many ways as to why this is so. Through the simple acts of letting one’s mind go, there are endless possibilities that can happen. Without meditation and altered states of consciousness, the world as we know it would be completely different.
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
Speculations on the origin of the mind have ranged from ghosts to society. Each new theory brings about more speculation and disagreement than the last. Where the mind resides, where it came from and if the brain has any involvement with the concept are common questions that fuel theory paradigms. Those questions are also the foundation of the debate about the roll of experience versus the existence of innate capacities. Steven Pinker theorizes the mind as a computing system created by the brain to fill the gap between innate capacities and capacities missing using common sense and learned critical thinking skills.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (2010). Health info. Meditation: An introduction. Retrieved from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm
A spirit is something that may be felt in the essence of the world but ultimately guides understanding into the meaning of life. Spirituality is often perceived in different ways by different cultures, religions, families, or even the individual. Often, the common theme that spirituality focuses on something greater than the physical world and allows people to feel connected to what it truly means to be a human on earth.
Introduction and Thesis: Spirituality and religion have played a significant role in establishing an individual’s internal and external beliefs, responses, and actions throughout life. Personal experiences and relationships have influenced the definition and understanding of spirituality and religion. People have identified with being spiritual and religious, spiritual and not religious, religious and not spiritual, or neither spiritual or religious. There are alternative views of spirituality and religion and their definitions change as attitudes toward religion and spirituality continue to evolve. When examining my own view of spirituality and religion, I identify as being spiritual and religious. I think the relationship between spirituality